Women in physics in South Africa: The story to 2008

Abstract

Overall about 40% of South African researchers in science, engineering, and technology are women, but the percentage of women in the physical sciences is significantly lower. In 2006, it appeared that about 16% of the 500 members of the South African Institute of Physics were women. Many of the issues of women in physics in South Africa parallel those of black physicists, including discrimination, both conscious and unconscious, in hiring and in awarding grants. The situation is slowly improving with the advent of policies aimed at redress and with far-reaching joint projects from the South African Department of Science and Technology and the South African Institute of Physics. Women in Physics in South Africa Project (WiPiSA), launched in 2005, aims to stimulate an increased interest in physics among girls and women, and assist in removing or overcoming obstacles to the study of physics and to work in physics-related careers. WiPiSA conducted a baseline survey of women who graduated with postgraduate degrees in physics between 1995 and 2005, and a surprisingly large database of 188 women has been formed. WiPiSA has also overseen a number of additional projects aimed at students, teachers, physics departments, and graduates